Return of the God of War - Chapter 96

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 96. Fight Your Own Battle.
“……and given the extreme gravity of the situation, I, Sama Hyang, Current Authority Chief, hereby decree by order of the Heavenly Lord’s Decree, acting in place of the Sadocheon Lord. Effective immediately, I appoint Nangung Yeongryeong, Gungju of Geomgung, as Commander of Three Armies. All Geomgwi under the Commander shall defend the northwestern sector of the Heaven-and-Earth Net deployment spanning Gwangsu, Gwiju, Honam, and Gwangdong. Furthermore, I grant the Commander Immediate Execution Authority, such that all judgments shall rest upon the Commander’s discretion, and all resulting responsibility shall fall upon me, Sama Hyang, Current Authority Chief.”
A messenger conveying a royal decree is, of course, the embodiment of the Current Authority Chief himself.
Before this unnamed low-ranking messenger, Nangung Yeongryeong knelt on one knee and performed the proper courtesy between lord and vassal.
Click.
“Your servant, Yeongryeong of the Nangung Clan, Commander of Three Armies, receives the decree.”
Boom.
The Geomgwi of Heaven, Earth, and Man arrayed behind her likewise prostrated themselves in unison, their voices ringing out in unison.
“We receive the decree!!!!”
Scarcely half an hour passed.
The entire force of Geomgung, fully armed and equipped, poured through the northern gate of Sadocheon.
Nangung Yeongryeong, with the bearing of a veteran of a hundred battles, showed no sign of haste whatsoever, calmly positioning her elite Geomgwi at the vanguard to establish encampments.
“……and Jayun and Pyo—lead a hundred-strong contingent each to the Jeyeong County region in the west. Guyeon and Soso proceed to Toeum County with twenty subordinate Geomgwi. Should an incident occur, address it first and report after—principle. Avoid reckless pursuit, and prioritize coordination with allied forces.”
Even to one untrained in military strategy, the command was flawless, stripped of all excess.
The Geomgwi marveled once more at their Gungju’s competence, their voices swelling with renewed fervor.
“Yes, Commander! We receive your orders.”
Only after she had positioned the final reserves in their assigned zones did Nangung Yeongryeong at last find a moment to draw breath.
“Sigh.”
A thin breath escaped her lips.
When a superior shows weakness, the ripple spreads, gathering force, until it touches the entire force.
Nangung Yeongryeong suppressed her own heart for the sake of her subordinates’ morale.
But she herself was no less bewildered.
A deep furrow carved itself between her brows.
“Treason? What in the name of the heavens is this bolt from the blue……?”
Yet according to Sama Hyang’s account, the conduct of those fingered as traitors truly warranted the name of treason.
What else could treason be?
They leaked secrets of Sadocheon to outsiders, all without the knowledge of their lord, the Heavenly Lord Muk Umyeong.
They cultivated an unauthorized private force and built a shadowy organization from it.
And in doing so, they killed loyal retainers devoted to Sadocheon and covered it up.
Whether they truly harbored intent to commit actual treason mattered not at all.
They sharpened blades that might yet be turned against their lord, even if they never drew them—that alone was treason.
Moreover, the figures involved were no small matter.
‘Cheongrang Daejу, Hwangrang Daejу, and Amyeong-gungju?’
Three of the Six Palaces Five Pillars—the pillars that upheld Sadocheon’s military might.
Personages powerful enough to sweep away an entire sect as easily as sweeping dust, now implicated in treason.
But what shook her most—
—was that the ringleader of this treason was none other than Muk Geon, the Fifth Son.
‘That abomination Gwangpok-dan, the outrages of the Baek Yuui Family, and the masked assailants who attacked Hyerang Camp—I already learned from Yeojin that he stood behind them all. But……’
All of Muk Geon’s misdeeds could be cast as mere extensions of private grudge.
Brutal though they were, they did not in themselves constitute treason.
That was why she had nodded when her son said, ‘We need justification to deal with Muk Geon.’
And yet, without warning: ‘Treason.’
‘Could it be……that the justification Yeojin spoke of was aimed at this all along?’
It was too perfectly timed to be otherwise.
If so, then her son already knew that Muk Geon had quietly amassed forces sufficient to constitute treason.
But how, exactly?
According to the Current Authority Office’s investigation, they had concealed all their plans with remarkable subtlety beneath the surface.
It was almost miraculous that Sama Hyang had uncovered the thread at all.
‘Did this too benefit from the aid of someone named Buyeon?’
There was no other explanation, yet something left her unsettled.
That was when it came.
“Commander! Unidentified martial artists—multiple, numbering around fifteen li to the south-southeast—approaching!”
Her pupils, which had been lax, hardened once more.
‘Yes. First, I douse the fire at my feet. Then I turn my eyes elsewhere.’
Slip.
Nangung Yeongryeong drew the Pagong Myeongwang Geom from her waist.
‘I took up the sword again for one reason alone.’
For my son.
So I shall walk the path of evil and become a demon without a moment’s hesitation.
In Nangung Yeongryeong’s clear eyes, a murderous chill now crystallized, cold and bitter.
“One warning. After that, anyone who doesn’t cooperate gets put down.”
“Understood.”
Her gaze suddenly turned toward the eastern sky in the distance.
‘I will fight my battle. My son. You must fight yours.’
Whoosh!
In an instant, Nangung Yeongryeong became light itself, surging forward.
* * *
“Gasp! Damn it all!”
Even as he ran, his breathing ragged, the man couldn’t stop cursing.
‘How did things come to this?’
Muk Geon couldn’t fathom the situation he now faced.
‘Treason? Why?’
Until just recently, when Kyeom’s ambush on Hyerang Camp had failed, there’d been no real sense of danger.
If anything, he’d felt relief—that thorn in his side, that worthless wretch, was finally gone.
But then, all at once, an urgent message had come from his maternal family.
That Ma Seon, a key figure in the teachings and the one commanding the Gwangpok-dan, had seen his estate reduced to ashes.
And that Grandfather Baek Yupa and the secret swordsmen they’d been cultivating had vanished.
Only then did he begin to sense that something had gone terribly wrong.
Yet even so, Muk Geon had been careless.
He’d thought there was no way he could be implicated.
And the price of that carelessness was precisely this humiliating flight.
By sheer fortune, though—
He’d had a secret passage prepared at his quarters beforehand, which at least allowed him to escape with nothing but his bare life.
Otherwise, he’d have been captured without fail.
“Young Master!”
Spotting the figure ahead, Muk Geon’s face brightened.
“Gungju of Amyeong Palace!”
Amyeong Palace.
A specialized assassination unit of Sadocheon, experts in the art of killing.
Yet compared to Myungmyeong Valley, the assassin faction between the righteous and evil paths, Amyeong Palace was considered a step below in standing.
“Gungju, what in the heavens is happening?”
“The reasons matter little now. Hwangrang Daejу has already been captured and taken away, and Cheongrang Daejу has likewise caught the attention of the mad Tusin-gungju and the Crown Prince—it’s only a matter of time before they’re caught.”
Though he’d heard that Hwangrang Daejу and Cheongrang Daejу, who’d been on the same boat as him, had met tragic ends, Muk Geon felt a wave of relief wash over him inwardly.
At least in this moment.
It was now clear that his pursuer was neither Tusin-gungju nor—far more terrifyingly—his elder brother, Muk Jujin.
“So what should we do now?”
Amyeong-gungju’s brow furrowed for a moment.
What’s happening. What should be done.
Those were the only words that tumbled from this fool’s mouth.
The idiot had no thoughts whatsoever about the situation.
‘Damn! I’ve made a grave mistake in choosing sides.’
In truth, as Gungju of Amyeong Palace, she’d known it was a desperate gamble when she’d joined forces with Muk Geon.
Among the Six Palaces of Sadocheon, Amyeong Palace had no special advantage to boast of.
And so, to seize a place at the heart of power, one had to take a reckless gamble, however foolish.
But as with most gambles in this world—
Her gamble too had ended in ruin, costing her everything she possessed.
Amyeong-gungju regarded Muk Geon, deliberating.
‘Should I lop off his limbs and use them as bargaining chips, then beg for my own life?’
Then she shook her head.
Sama Hyang.
That cold, merciless woman wouldn’t spare her even if she offered that much—not a single drop of mercy.
‘Either way, he’s the Heavenly Lord’s child and carries the blood of the Baek Yuui Family. He must be useful for something.’
Deciding he had value, if only as a tool or for some future purpose, Amyeong-gungju let the edge fall from her voice and spoke.
“From now on, we head southwest.”
“Southwest, you say?”
“Indeed. According to what I’ve learned, the one overseeing the southwest is Yi Gongnyeo. Breaking through the encirclement without detection would be ideal, but if we’re discovered, there’s still room for negotiation with her.”
“Ah!”
Muk Geon nodded vigorously.
Certainly, his second sister, Muk Seoin, was someone who’d shake hands with demons if profit called for it.
But then.
It didn’t take long for Muk Geon’s face, which had brightened for an instant, to contort again.
“Hold on! Where are you rushing off to so fast? Let me come along.”
A voice from behind.
“……?!”
Amyeong-gungju and Muk Geon spun around in surprise.
Muk Geon’s eyes widened.
“You?!”
Leaning against a sprawling old tree with a languid air was a man—Muk Yeojin.
“How did you get here?”
“How? I’ve been worried sick watching where you’d sneak off to. Haven’t slept in days—I’m dead on my feet.”
“But what exactly—”
“Never mind. We’ll talk later. Right now, something else takes priority.”
Muk Yeojin smiled coldly.
“Listen here, Shadow Cat.”
Shadow Cat.
That was what they called Amyeong-gungju, who wore garments dyed entirely black.
He could hardly fail to know he was being addressed.
Amyeong-gungju’s killing intent flared up.
Muk Yeojin clicked his tongue.
“Look at that—some worthless beast showing its fangs to a human? Time I taught you some manners.”
Snap!
There was no need to hear more.
Amyeong-gungju’s form shot forward like lightning.
Twin crescent-shaped daggers gleamed in his grip, streaking toward Muk Yeojin’s throat.
But.
Clang!
“……!!”
Amyeong-gungju’s eyes bulged wide.
Muk Yeojin, the youngest son of the Heavenly Lord.
He’d heard rumors that the boy showed some promise.
Yet he was barely a seedling, after all.
It should have been impossible for him to parry a single strike from a Gungju of his caliber.
‘What in blazes—’
The boy had deflected that blow with unsettling ease.
Muk Yeojin stared at Amyeong-gungju, smothering a yawn.
“Did you gamble your way into the Gungju seat? Your skill doesn’t even reach third-rate compared to your master or the Tusin-gungju.”
Of course, those two were exceptionally strong even among the Gungjus, and he was well aware that Amyeong-gungju’s true strength lay in assassination techniques performed from the shadows.
Yet the provocation seemed to land—his eyes grew darker with killing intent.
He drew a flute from his robes and blew into it.
No sound emerged, but soon he could sense dozens of figures converging from all directions.
“However you came to be here, you will pay the price for daring to face Amyeong Palace alone.”
Muk Yeojin chuckled softly.
“Alone? Who says I’m alone?”
“What?”
In that instant.
Boom!
“Argh!”
“Kagh!”
Four of Amyeong-gungju’s subordinates, who had begun to form their ranks, were hurled through the air, coughing blood, and crashed to the ground.
And.
Whoosh.
A woman swordmaster in plain clothes stepped from the shadows.
It was Muk Iyeon, the Sorrow-Hearted Sword Geomgwi.
The perpetual chill of Muk Yeojin’s smile faded from his eyes, which grew infinitely darker.
“Those who wish to keep breathing—kneel.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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